In fairness to Kildare, they played well in patches to keep the differential at that when the final whistle went - though Paddy Brophy's late goal and Paul Mannion's disallowed one had something to do with that.

And so the Dubs' record-breaking year continues to rack up the milestones.

This was the Blues' 55th senior Leinster title success - an unprecedented seventh on the spin.

Such is the shadow they cast that it was also their 12th final win in the last 13 years, the Meath-Louth final debacle the only respite from their complete dominance.

Kildare are seen as the vanguard of the resistance that's emerging to challenge the status quo but the day when Dublin is toppled in their own dominion still looks a long time off.

Certainly the Lilywhites will take encouragement heading into their qualifier against Monaghan or Armagh on the back of winning the second quarter by nine points to four - especially as it looked a long way back after Dublin's second goal.

Although they've earned promotion from Division 2, Kildare are still relatively inexperienced one and can improve.

Whether they can rally in time for the qualifiers remains to be seen.

At the same time Dublin missed a flurry of scoring opportunities in that period as complacency took hold.

A plus point for Gavin was the performance of Con O'Callaghan, who took over the free-taking responsibilities after Dean Rock was black carded in the 23rd minute and scored 12 points.

Another was the sharp display of Bernard Brogan, who made hay in Rock's place to push his claim for a starting spot in the All-Ireland series. Yet as O'Neill pointed out afterwards, Jim Gavin will have plenty to study in terms of the game footage.

While Philly McMahon was a late inclusion and Cian O'Sullivan was restored to his old position at full-back - the sweeper role was ditched to keep tabs on the pacy Flynn - the Dubs' full-back line looked vulnerable under the high ball.

There was that first minute chance for Moolick, but also the one in second half injury time that Brophy dispatched.

For those who backed the Dubs to beat the nine point handicap, it was a killer to see Mannion's goal ruled out at the death.